In Darkest Night
by DWDuck
Summary: Buffy gets help in fighting the First Evil in the form of an Amazon Princess as well as the newest Green Lantern for Sector 2814, William "Spike" Pratt.
1. Chapter 1

Title: …In Darkest Night  
Author: DWDuck  
Pairings: Buffy + Spike. Willow + Diana  
Rating: R  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the rights to either Buffy or the DC Universe (specifically Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.) The rights belong to Joss Whedon and DC Comics; I'm just playing with their things.  
Setting: Season 7 BtVS. Spike did not return from Africa immediately after the Demon Trials.

Summary: Buffy gets help in fighting the First Evil in the form of an Amazon Princess as well as the newest Green Lantern for Sector 2814, William "Spike" Pratt.

**…In Darkest Night**

**African Savannah**

Spike stumbled out of the cave that housed the Demon Trials and collapsed in a heap. The demon lord known as Lloyd had granted him his one wish for surviving the Trials. Spike had endured the unspeakable pain and suffering of the Trials with only one goal in mind. He wanted his soul back. Now that his soul had been returned to him, new agony was forming in his chest. Spike knew his heart would break under all of the remorse and guilt he had accumulated since becoming a vampire. The weight of his sin felt like it would crush him into a pale, yet still devilishly handsome, puddle of goo. Thoughts of suicide ran through his head briefly as the faces of all his victims flashed one at a time before his eyes. The man inside of Spike fought back and he screamed into the night, refusing to be overwhelmed by thoughts of ending his existence. He swallowed his remorse and focused on his reason for getting his soul back in the first place…a blonde Slayer by the name of Buffy.

Spike thought that he had loved the Slayer before, but now he knew what true love felt like. Tears streamed from his eyes as he marveled at the beauty of it. Clinging to the image of her face, Spike pushed back the darkness threatening to swallow his soul. After about an hour of crying he stood up, brushed the dirt off of his pants, and said, "Well, that's enough of that. Time to head back to Buffy and tell her how I feel." Spike walked over to the old, gnarled tree that stood by the cave entrance and found the beat up dirt bike he had "borrowed" still leaning against the trunk. Spike got on it and after a few tries got the motor running.

Spike's mind was divided between experiencing the beauty of the night and trying to figure out what to say to Buffy. He was so preoccupied that he was startled when he saw a huge shooting star in the side mirror on his handlebars. Spike brought the bike to a stop and stared at the marvelous sight. He smiled and thought about writing a poem about how lovely it was (something he hadn't done in over a hundred years.) That was until he realized that the shooting star kept getting bigger and looked like it was coming straight towards him.

"Oh bugger!" Spike swore as he gunned the throttle and fishtailed down the game trail. He kept looking in his mirror and saw the fireball was getting closer. Spike smacked his forehead with his palm. He braked hard and slid the rear of the bike to his right. He shot off again at a path 90 degrees from the one he had just been on. Spike chuckled and then looked in his mirror again and saw the large flaming object had changed course along with him. "Bloody hell! You've got to be kidding me!" he yelled. "I did not just go through a week of torture to get my soul back just to be smited from above," Spike said to himself. He glanced over his shoulder and imagined he could hear the roar of the flames coming off the falling "whatever it was". Spike shook his head in dismay as he came up with a plan. "Well, I've done stupider things," he said.

Spike opened up the throttle all the way and put on as much speed as he could. When all he could see in his mirror was rolling orange and red flames, Spike laid the dirt bike over and slid on the ground for over 100 feet. The object flew past him and Spike could feel the heat coming off of it. The "shooting star" came to earth with a huge, booming crash. It crashed on the other side of a small hill less than 100 yards away from where he lay in the dirt.

"That was too bloody close," Spike muttered. He looked over to the hill and saw a faint glow coming from the other side. His vampire hearing picked up the sound of someone moaning. Spike started talking to himself, trying to talk some sense into him. "DO NOT go over there, Spike" he warned himself. "You know what happens every time in the movies. The nasty alien thingy jumps out and does the nasty with some poor bloke's face," he said as he held his hand up to his face, mimicking a monster. Spike heard another painful moan. "Oh…who am I kidding," he sighed and started trudging up the hill.

Spike let out an impressed whistle when he saw the wreckage strewn around. "I haven't seen anything like this since the last time Giles let Buffy use his car," he said. Another moan came from the wreckage and Spike ran down the hill towards it. When he got to the piles of twisted metal and plastic, he saw a leg under a particularly large piece of debris. Spike used his enhanced strength and managed to lift the debris and move it to the side. He found a purple skinned man in a green and black one piece suit under the debris. Spike knelt down next to the injured being, not sure of where to begin. He remembered hearing something about not moving some one until you knew the patients injuries. A piece of wreckage to Spike's right gave off a shower of sparks and then ignited. "Well, I guess that streamlines the process now a bit," Spike said. He put his arms under the injured man's back and hips and picked him up in a smooth motion. The purple man weighed a little more than Spike would have thought, but he managed the extra weight with ease. A second shower of sparks sent Spike scurrying to the other side of the hill where he ditched his motorcycle.

A second large explosion told Spike he had been right to move the patient. He gently laid the man down next to a tree. "My name's Spike, I want to help you," Spike said, not expecting an answer. From how high tech the wreckage looked and the general direction he came from (up); Spike guessed the purple skinned man was an alien, rather than a demon. He was surprised when the injured man opened his eyes and spoke in a pained voice.

"Abin Sur," the man moaned.

"Um…Abin Sur to you too," Spike said hesitantly.

"It's my name," Abin Sur whispered.

Spike leaned back a bit, embarrassed. "Oh…sorry about that," he apologized.

"Are you the one who was riding the two wheel conveyance?" Abin Sur asked.

"Two wheeled conveyance? Oh the motorcycle, yeah that was me," Spike said. "No offense, Mate, but your piloting skills suck more than a starved fledgling," he pointed out.

Abin Sur looked at Spike accusingly. "You kept moving," he countered. "I was trying to land next to you. Your rapid change in course was more than the damaged life pod could take," Abin Sur explained.

"Oops," Spike said. He thought a moment and then asked, "Wait…why where you trying to land next to me?"

"This," Abin Sur said as he lifted up his hand. A green ring in the shape of an old railway lantern glowed on one of his three fingers and then slipped off on its own. The ring floated upwards and stopped in front of Spike's face. It gave off a brighter flash of green light and then went back to its normal glow. Spiked waited for an explanation, not wanting to insult the dying alien by asking a stupid question. "I'm dying. I was wounded in a battle far out in space," Abin Sur told him. "The ring knew this and directed me to come to Earth to find my replacement," he said. "We were headed to what you call the US when the ring suddenly picked up a flare of intense courage and will," Abin Sur whispered. "I forced a flight path change to home in on this new candidate. The ring became more sure as we saw you," he said.

"Me?" Spike asked in astonishment. "Sounds like you're looking for a champion. If so, you found the wrong bloke," he told Abin Sur.

"Put on the ring and we'll see," Abin Sur said; a slight hint of a smile on his pained face. Spike shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the floating ring. It felt warm and comforting in his hand. Spike slipped the ring on his right hand and noted how it fit perfectly. "Good…now to see if the ring made a mistake," Abin Sur said. "I'll need you to repeat something after me. If nothing happens then the ring was wrong and I will have no successor," he said.

Spike looked warily at the ring and then alien. "What happens if the ring was right?" he asked.

This time Abin Sur smiled fully. "Then you start a wondrous journey and fulfill your potential as a 'champion', as you put it," he said.

Spike took a deep breath (some habits die hard) and nodded his head. Abin Sur coughed up some dark blue blood and then said, "Repeat after me." Abin Sur recited the oath he had said daily for well over a century.

Spike thought it sounded a little corny, but he decided to humor the dying alien. Spike did as he was told, even though he had a sudden bad feeling about it. He repeated the oath:  
"In brightest day,  
In blackest night,  
No evil shall escape my sight,  
Let those who worship evil's might,  
Beware my power…Green Lantern's light!"  
Spike felt power rushing through his body to the ring. Instinctively he held up his right hand to the sky. A beam of pure green light shot out of the ring and streaked heavenward. A green energy started crawling down Spike's arm towards the rest of his body. As it progressed, Spike's clothing was transformed into a uniform similar to Abin Sur's.

"The ring chose you, Spike," Abin Sur said ever so softly. It was only Spike's vampire hearing that allowed him to hear it.

Spike looked over his body, not sure what to think. The outfit was horrible, too much like a uniform; but the power flowing through him was terrific. "Abin, this feels great," Spike said happily. He glanced down and saw the alien's chest had stopped rising. "Abin?" Spike asked. He knelt next to the dead body and gently closed the alien's eyes. Spike walked over to the motorcycle and retrieved a small camp shovel. He went about the task of digging Abin Sur a grave.

When Spike had tapped down the last bit of earth over the strange purple man, he sighed and straightened up. Spike looked at the ring curiously. "Wish I had asked old Abin if you came with an instruction manual," he sighed. Spike felt a vibration coming from the ring and suddenly his body was covered in a green glow. "Uh…oh…" Spike said. He shot upwards at nearly twice the sound of speed and continued to accelerate. When he reached the edge of the atmosphere, a green and black helmet took shape over his head and black gloves appeared on his hands. Not an inch of his skin was showing and Spike soon found out why. He was leaving the planet behind him and there was nothing except his new suit to block out the deadly rays of the sun.

The ring shot out another blast of light. This blast triggered a wormhole that Spike sped into. As he crossed the event horizon, Spike thought, "_Shit…Now how am I supposed to tell Buffy that I really love her?_"

**Island of Themyscira**

Princess Diana looked through the smoke the bronze brazier was giving off. The oldest of the seers was sitting across her. The old woman smiled at the young Amazon. "Thank you for coming at such at short notice, your Highness," the seer said.

"You know I would always come running when you called, Serra," Diana told the woman who had helped raise her. "What is it that I can do for you?" she asked. "Can I get more wood for your fire. I know how the cold has been affecting you more the last couple of years," Diana said.

"No dear one, that's not why I called you here," Serra said. "I have had some very disturbing visions…visions of the outside world," she told Diana.

Diana perked up mentally. She had grown up the Island of Themyscira and only knew about what on in the rest of the world through what the seers and their spies told her. "Tell me," the Princess said.

"Before I do, what do you remember about the story we teach the younger sisters about 'the Betrayed One'?" the seer asked.

Diana thought for a moment. She had an eidetic memory and quickly came up with the right story. "Yes, I remember you telling me about her, and what the men did to her" Diana said.

Serra nodded. "Her current vessel is under attack from the First Evil, also known as the spirit of fear," she said. "I have foreseen that even though she will fight valiantly, she will not succeed alone," Serra told her.

Diana took in a quick breath of excitement. "Am I to help her?" she asked hopefully. Diana had been created on the island and had never left its shores.

"Yes, dear one. The council of elders wanted you to stay here, but I reminded them that the gods created you to be a protector of the whole world, not just our little corner of it," Serra said. "The time has finally come for our Princess to make her debut in the world of man," she said.

Diana could barely contain her excitement. All of her years of training and education had led up to this moment. "Where do I need to go to help the Betrayed One?" Diana asked.

Serra focused her gaze into the rising smoke. "A small town called Sunnydale," she replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**…In Darkest Night, Chapter 2**

**Planet OA**

The wormhole opened and deposited Spike in orbit around a blue and white colored planet. He abruptly changed directions and sped towards the largest land mass in the northern hemisphere. Upon entering the atmosphere, Spike could see that he was pointed towards a huge city. His decent slowed and he was able to get a good look at the alien metropolis from above. The buildings looked like a cross between bone and crystal. All of the structures he saw had an organic and somewhat ancient look to them. To Spike the city looked like the bones of some strange giant that had passed away here millions of years ago.

Spike came in low to the city and he suddenly had an awful thought…he had no idea how to stop or land. When he reached a platform high up on the largest tower; his ring stopped glowing and Spike landed, hard and fast. He rolled with the impact and slid to a stop against the side of the tower. Spike looked up when he heard laughter not far from him.

"Looks like you need a little practice on your landings," the plum colored skin man chuckled. Like Spike, he was dressed in a green and black uniform with a white and green emblem on the front. The man had a thick black hair and a black, pencil thin mustache. "Same thing happened to me on my first flight," the man said, easing Spike's ego. He held out his hand to Spike. Spike took the offered hand and was pulled to his feet.

Once Spike was up, the man let go and then floated several feet into the air. He changed his position so that he was horizontal with the floor. "Right before you land, think about moving your feet towards the ground and making a soft landing. The ring will do the rest," the man said. He demonstrated for Spike by moving so that his feet were pointed down again and he touched down as light as a feather.

Spike nodded his head in appreciation as he rubbed his shoulder. "Thanks, mate. The name's Spike," Spike offered.

"They call me Sinestro," the man said. He gave Spike a curious look. "Judging from your landing, I'm guessing you're brand new. Who had your ring before you?" Sinestro asked.

"Let's see…bloke about your size, purple skin. I think he said his name was 'Ah been surf', or something like that," Spike told him.

Sinestro's face fell. "Do you mean 'Abin Sur'?" he asked, obviously upset.

Spike snapped his fingers. "Yeah, that's it," he said. Spike saw the pained look on Sinestro's face. "Friend of yours?" he asked politely.

Sinestro sighed deeply. "Abin Sur was probably my closest friend. We became Green Lanterns at about the same time and were assigned near each other," he said. Sinestro didn't feel it was necessary to bring up the fact that Abin Sur had also been his brother-in-law. Sinestro's late wife had been Abin Sur's younger sister. "The Corps has lost one of its best today," he said solemnly. Sinestro looked Spike up and down. "You have quite the legacy to live up to," he said.

"Riiight…" Spike said slowly. He looked down at his uniform. "Since we're both headed to the same Halloween party, would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Spike asked, frustration saturating his voice.

Sinestro clapped Spike on the back. "I'll take you to the Guardians. They'll explain everything to you," he said. "Don't worry about being clueless. I hadn't the foggiest idea what I was getting into when I first took the oath," Sinestro told him in a mock conspiratorial voice.

"All right, lead on," Spike said. After they entered the tower through the round door that led to the outside, Spike's helmet and gloves disappeared. Spike asked, "So what…are you the welcoming committee or something?"

Sinestro did a double take on how pale Spike was and chuckled. "Absolutely not. When we know a new Green Lantern is coming, they are usually met by Kilowog," he said. "Since we weren't expecting Abin Sur's death, your arrival is something of a complete surprise," Sinestro admitted.

"Small guy, eh?" Spike asked.

"What?" Sinestro replied, confused as to Spike was talking about.

"A wog that only weighs a kilo…Kilowog, right?" Spike suggested.

Sinestro just smiled at the new guy's misconception. "You'll see," was all he would say. They eventually reached another round door, this one large enough to drive a truck through. This one was emblazoned with the symbol Spike was starting to get used to seeing. The door silently slid open as they approached. Sinestro put his hand up to slow Spike down. "Let me go first, I'll tell them about Abin Sur and then introduce you," he said.

Spike nodded and the two men walked into the Guardians' chamber. The room was circular and had several rows of seating that started about a third of the way up and rose towards the ceiling. In the center of the floor was a large circle with the Green Lantern emblem on it. "Wait here," Sinestro whispered and then walked into the center of the circle.

A loud voice boomed inside Spike's head. "_What have you to report on the problems concerning the pirates in sector 2814 and 1417, Sinestro?_"

"I have grave news, Ranakar. Abin Sur's mission to infiltrate the pirates ended in failure," Sinestro said.

"_How so?_" a kinder sounding voice filled Spike's mind.

"I'm afraid, Ganthet, that Abin Sur is dead," Sinestro said sadly. Spike got the impression of a multitude of voices murmuring between his ears.

"_And would this new Green Lantern in our midst be his successor?_" Ganthet asked. Sinestro nodded to Spike and the vampire stepped into the circle. He looked up and saw the rising bleachers were filled with blue skinned men with absurdly large heads. They were all wearing red robes.

"So which one of you Smurfs is going to tell me what the bleeding hell is going on?" Spike asked insolently.

Ganthet laughed as he floated out of his seat and down towards the floor. He stopped a few above the ground next to Spike. From what Spike could tell, this Guardian looked different from the others. Instead of short white hair, this one had grown his long and had it tied back in a ponytail. "_He has fire, I'll give him that,_" Ganthet remarked. He addressed Spike. "_Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ganthet, one of the Guardians of the Universe. What is your name?_" Ganthet asked.

"Spike," the vampire said. He had been around Sunnydale too long to be impressed by the telepathy.

"_I've heard worse names I suppose_," Ganthet said with a smile. Spike thought he caught the slightest glance towards Sinestro. From the way his plum colored companion bristled, Sinestro caught the glance as well.

"You are in the Hall of the Guardians, where my cohorts and I take care of the business of making sure there is order in the Universe," Ganthet said, this time using his mouth, rather than telepathy. "To this end we set up an Intergalactic peace keeping force known as the Green Lanterns. They are chosen for their bravery and strength of will," he explained. "Perhaps this would be easier if I just gave you the information directly," Ganthet offered. He floated closer to Spike with his palm facing the newest recruit.

"Look mate, I don't think high-fiving my forehead is going to do…" Spike started to say. Ganthet had touched Spike's forehead and information began flooding into his mind. While the information streamed, Spike heard Ganthet's voice in there as well.

"_Spike, right know you are the only one who can hear me. If you don't want others to hear you, just think the words and I will block them from the others_," Ganthet told him. "_I must admit, I am surprised to see a vampire in our midst,_" he said.

"_What? How did you know?_" Spike was careful to think. He tried to keep his face as impassive as possible.

"_I was there during the last Demon War,_" Ganthet told him. "_When I found out that the last demon had created a race of hybrids on your planet, I decided to keep a close eye on it,_" the ancient being told him.

"_If you can see inside my head, then you know I'm not the right choice to be a space cop,_" Spike said. "_I've killed hundreds of people, there's too much blood on my hands,_" he told Ganthet.

"_What is past is past, Spike. I can feel your new soul and the remorse that is consuming you,_" Ganthet informed Spike. "_Spike, the rings don't make hasty choices when they choice a new wearer. It scanned your whole planet and chose you, think about that,_" he said.

"_Look mate, I'm not the right guy. Your guys' ring made a mistake this time. I'm not worthy,_" Spike said as he integrated the stream of information into his memory.

Ganthet stared into Spike's eyes as he searched Spike's mind for what he was looking for. "_Your reluctance doesn't come from a lack of confidence, it stems from guilt,_" he observed. Ganthet gave Spike a sad look. "_I'm sorry Spike, what I'm about to do will be…very unpleasant at first, but I think it may be the only way to get you to see things in perspective,_" he said. Before Spike could respond, Ganthet reached further into Spike's mind and started dragging up memories.

Spike could hear Ganthet's voice like a narrator as the faces of those he murdered and hurt flashed in front of him. "_These are the people you have killed or hurt badly, Spike,_" Ganthet said. Spike could only go along with things, unable to get the images out of head. He saw the face of his first victim and then all of the faces of the snobs who had labeled him "William, the bloody awful poet". The face of his mother flashed in front of his eyes to be followed by the faces of the two Slayers he had killed. After the faces of those he had killed, the faces of those he had harmed started. The final face he saw was Buffy's as he tried to rape her. Spike wanted to drop to his knees and sob, but he stood firm; knowing that the remorse and guilt he was feeling was justified. "_You have done horrible things, Spike,_" Ganthet said softly, "_You have much to atone for. You have killed hundreds of people, but I can't think of a better way to atone than to become the protector of billions._" Now Spike could see an alien world racing towards him. Faces of those who inhabited that planet flashed in front of him, almost too fast for him to comprehend. After 18 planets and their inhabitants passed before him, the Earth came into focus. Instead of a speedy montage of faces, Spike saw longer flashes of the people he knew. The images slowed down even more and Spike had a long look at the Niblet's young face. The mental images ended with an image of Buffy on the floor of her bedroom. She was kneeling with Spike's black leather coat in her hands. Tears were streaming down her face as she gently caressed the jacket he so loved.

"_I don't remember ever seeing her do that,_" Spike challenged.

Ganthet gave Spike a warm, fatherly smile. "_It's because it hasn't happened yet. I gave you a glimpse of the future,_" he explained. "_You have to make a choice now, Spike. Give me the ring back, and I will transport you back to Earth,; no hard feelings. Or…you can keep the ring and step up to the responsibilities of a Green Lantern. Choose now,_" Ganthet ordered.

Spike had already decided. The images of Dawn and Buffy had made up his mind. Spike gave Ganthet a resolute look and then strode purposefully into the center of the Green Lantern emblem on the floor. He thrust his right hand up in defiance of all that was evil. The room became hushed as it was filled with a bright green glow coming from the newest Green Lantern. Spike shouted at the teeming evil of the Universe:  
"In Brightest day,  
In Darkest night,  
No evil shall escape my sight,  
Let those who worship evil's might,  
Beware my power…Green Lantern's Light!"  
Spike's ring flashed an even more intense green and a constant beam shot out from his hand. The beam lanced out through the skylight at the top of the chamber, a green beacon to the Universe. A beacon that offered help to those in need and a warning to those who preyed on others.

]0[ =WW=**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: From this point on, things will deviate from the final season of BtVS. I was never happy with the Scooby's betrayal of Buffy, not to mention how the addition of Wonder Woman will shake things up.

**…In Darkest Night, Chapter 3**

**Sunnydale, Summers House**

Buffy thrashed on her bed and nearly tore her sheets while she slept. It had been several months since Spike had left town, and she was starting to have nightmares about him again. This particular one was different than the ones she had right after Spike's failed attempt at raping her. Her new nightmare had all the tell tale sensations of a Slayer dream. In this nightmare she saw Spike undergoing horrible tortures at the hands of a demon lord. She heard Spike telling the demon lord that the reason he was there was because of what he had done to her. Buffy knew that Spike cared for her in his own way, but never thought that he would subject himself to such torture as a way of punishing himself. She watched helplessly as Spike went through torment after torment, each one being worse than the last. Buffy's heart broke as she heard Spike chanting "For Buffy" in order to focus and endure the pain.

Buffy's nightmare fast forwarded and she watched as the demon lord laid his hand on Spike's chest and a glowing orb flowed into the blonde vampire. This seemed to be the worst pain Spike had endured yet. Tears ran from his eyes as he again whispered, "For Buffy." The nightmare jumped ahead again and she saw Spike get on a motorcycle and ride away from the cave where he had undergone the tortures. Buffy could tell in her dream that there was something very different about Spike. She yelled out in her sleep as she saw the giant fireball heading straight towards him. The fireball was almost on him when she was suddenly awakened by a voice in her room.

"Bad dreams again, love" Buffy heard Spike say. Buffy opened her eyes and saw Spike standing by her bed. His tee shirt and jeans were smoldering. Buffy concentrated and checked her Slayer senses. Her special Slayer sense that told her of the presence of vampires was quiet.

"What do you want?" Buffy asked the First.

The First image of Spike smiled cruelly. "I thought I would give you some insight and explain that Slayer dream of yours," he said.

"Right, like I'm going to believe anything you say. Everything you say is lies," Buffy said. She turned over and tried to make herself comfortable. The First Spike appeared on the other side of her bed.

"Of course I lie, I'm Evil, pet," the First Spike told her. "Everyone does. The only time I don't lie is when telling the truth hurts even more," he said. "The tortures you witnessed where actually something Spike went through months ago. They're called the Demon Trials. It's sort of a game show where demons try to endure unimaginable pain in order to win a prize," the First explained. "If you make it through all of the trials, you get one wish; a wish beyond the power of most demons," he said. "Do you know how many demons have survived the trials in the last 10,000 years?" the First asked.

"Don't know…don't care," Buffy muttered.

The First Spike held up one finger. "Just one, pet. Me…well Spike, but you get the picture," he said. "Want to guess what he wished for?" the First taunted.

"If I say no, will you go away?" Buffy asked.

The First ignored her. "I'll tell you what he asked for. He asked to have his soul returned to him," he said.

Buffy sat upright quickly. "Why would he do that?" she asked. Buffy guessed that Spike had a pretty good idea of the emotional pain Angel went through everyday due to _his_ soul.

"Isn't it obvious, love," the First Spike said. "He wanted to be worthy of you and hoped that someday you might be able to forgive him. He even had this ridiculous notion that you might grow to love him if he had a soul; but we both know that isn't true," he said. The First changed forms so that he looked liked Angel. "You're incapable of having a relationship that works. When it seems like you might actually start falling for a guy, you push him away; just like you did me," the First Angel said. "You missed your chance with me, and you missed your chance with that bleached blonde bastard, too," he said.

"What are talking about? I never wanted a relationship with Spike in the first place," Buffy said, lying to herself.

The First changed form back into Spike. "Right…that's why you kept my jacket after I blew town," he taunted. The real Spike had left his treasured jacket on her front porch with a note that said he was leaving and wouldn't return until he could guarantee that he would never hurt her again. Buffy hated to admit that there was _something_ between her and her one time arch-nemesis. "Oh…one last thing, that fireball you saw in your dream; well let's just say that your vampire admirer is no longer among us," the First Spike said happily.

"No…Spike has survived a lot worse. I'm sure he's fine," Buffy argued.

"I would be disappointed in you, Buffy, if you just took my word for it. Why don't you have Red try to find me? You have my jacket after all, it shouldn't be that hard to locate me; since you have something of mine," the First Spike. Buffy didn't say anything. "Poor, poor Buffy. You know that you wasted your only two chances at love, right? That's one more than most people are allotted," he said. The First changed forms again, back into Angel. "The first guy to love you, you drove him into the arms of another woman. You might remember her, goes by Cordelia," the First Angel taunted. He switched back to Spike. "As for the second…" the First disappeared, consumed by flames.

Buffy jumped out of bed and ran into Willow's room after grabbing Spike's coat and the note he left her. She shook her friend's shoulder until she woke up. "Willow…Willow…wake up," she said, a slight edge of fear in her voice.

Willow opened her eyes and looked at Buffy. "Buffy? What's wrong?" she asked blearily.

"I need you to work up a spell and find Spike for me," Buffy told her.

Willow looked at her friend with concern. "Sweetie, I don't think that's such a good idea," she said. Willow's face darkened. "Unless you think he's coming back and going to try and hurt you again," she said coldly.

"No, nothing like that," Buffy said. Buffy explained to Willow about her nightmare and recent visit from the First.

"You kept the bastard's jacket?" Willow asked incredulously. She very rarely swore. "Why?" she asked, perplexed.

Buffy handed Willow the note and let her read it. "Ok, so the vampire felt bad, so what?" Willow asked. "He's evil remember…or at least he was when he left. Do you think he actually got his soul back?" she asked, not sure what to think.

Buffy scrunched up her face, trying to make sense of her Slayer dream. "In my dream, I felt like there was something…something different about Spike. I think his soul is what I felt," she told Willow. "Look, I'm not saying I have feelings for Spike. I just want to know if the First was telling the truth," Buffy said, again lying to herself.

Willow gave Buffy a sad look and grabbed the jacket from Buffy. "Well, the First was right about one thing. Finding him will be pretty easy. With the connection to Mother Earth that I developed at the coven and this…" she said, shaking the coat. "I should be able to find him anywhere on the planet," Willow said.

Buffy stepped away from Willow's bed, clearly indicating she expected Willow to follow. Willow sighed and slid out of bed. She walked over to the conjuring circle she had painted on the floor. Willow sat down in the center with the coat in her lap. She sent her awareness to join with Mother Earth. Willow had a slight smile as she felt the comfort of sharing awareness with nature. Her smile slipped as she failed to feel a responding resonance to Spike's jacket. Willow's brows creased as she poured more energy into a search that should have been something simple. After a moment, Willow's will had covered the entire planet searching for Spike. She opened her eyes and glanced at Buffy. "I'm sorry," was all she could say. Willow had hated Spike for what he had done to Buffy, but part of her mourned the loss of a friend. "He's gone," she said softly.

Buffy silently took the black leather jacket from Willow and walked back to her room, not saying a word. She shut her bedroom door behind her and then collapsed on the floor, crying; clutching Spike's jacket. "I forgive you, Spike," she whispered through her tears.

While Buffy was crying silently in her room, the phone rang. Willow rushed to it, not wanting to disturb Buffy. After she answered it, she heard an unfamiliar voice. "May I speak with Willow Rosenberg, please?" the feminine voice asked with a slight Texan accent.

"This is Willow," the red haired witch said.

"Hi, my name's Fred Burkle. I work at Angel Investigations," Fred said. "Angel's lost his soul again and we sorta need your help," she begged.

"What happened?" Willow asked, truly frightened. Angelus was not someone she ever wanted to deal with again.

"It's…complicated," Fred hedged. "I would be more comfortable explaining to you in person. You're are only hope, since…you know, you were the last person to give him his soul back," she said.

"I'll be there in a couple of hours," Willow assured Angel's friend. She decided not to tell Buffy where she was going. Buffy was having a difficult time as things were now. Willow wrote out a note that told Buffy she was going to be gone for a few days and not to worry. She hurriedly packed a small suitcase and rushed out to her car. Buffy was too involved with her grief to notice her friend's departure.

]O[ =WW=

Willow and Faith Lehane drove through the night. It had taken both of them to get Angel back to where he needed to be. When Willow told Faith about what the First was doing in Sunnydale and the attacks on the potentials, Faith insisted on returning with her.

It was Faith's turn to drive and she was using all of her enhanced senses to be on the lookout for danger. "Shit!" she swore and slammed on the brakes, causing the rear of the small car to slew around. They slid to stop only a couple of feet from a girl who had staggered onto the road and collapsed. If it hadn't been for Faith's Slayer reactions, they would have run over the young woman. Faith and Willow jumped out and ran to the girl. They found her clutching a deep knife wound in her stomach.

The girl was in shock and could only whisper, "I…have…a message…for the Slayer," before she passed out. Faith and Willow gently picked up the injured girl and put her in the back seat. Willow sat with her, cradling the young woman's head in her lap. Faith pushed the accelerator all the way down and sped to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital. They stayed with the girl until the doctors ushered them out of the room and promised to call if her condition changed.

The sun had come up and was in the middle of the sky before Willow and Faith left the hospital. Willow made a phone call and then invited Faith to an outdoor café to have lunch with Xander.

"So how's B doing?" Faith asked between mouthfuls of sandwich. She had ordered twice as much as Willow and Xander combined, her enhanced metabolism needing the extra calories.

Xander glanced at Willow, hoping for a clue as to what he should tell the other Slayer. Willow nodded and then took a sip of her soda. Xander sighed. "Buffy's not doing so good. This fight with the First is dragging her down. I don't know when the last time she slept was," Xander admitted. "And there's that other thing," he said, his face sour.

"What other thing?" Faith asked, noticing the almost angry look on Xander's face.

"Do you remember Spike?" Willow asked.

"Oooh, the yummy blonde vampire with the incredible abs? No, I don't remember him at all," Faith said sarcastically.

"Turns out he and Buffy had a…thing," Xander spit out.

"Rock on, B. At least this guy was evil to begin with, so B didn't have to worry about him turning all bad when she helped him get an 'O' face," Faith joked. Xander choked on his soda at the image. "They have a bad break up or something?" Faith asked.

"Something like that," Xander said as he wiped soda off of his shirt.

"Spike tried to rape Buffy," Willow said.

"Did she stake his ass?" Faith asked sternly.

"Should have," Xander muttered.

Willow gave Xander a dirty look. "No, she didn't. Spike was overcome with remorse and left Sunnydale," she said. "Buffy says she had a Slayer dream where Spike went through something called the demon Trials and got his soul back," Willow explained.

"Awkward," Faith said, nodding. "Are they getting back together then?" she asked. Faith saw Xander smirk.

"Not going to happen," Xander said smugly. Willow hit him the arm, causing him to wince. "Ouch," he said.

Willow took a deep breath. "Spike was destroyed by a huge fireball right after he got his soul back. I used magic to search for him, and there is no trace of him at all left on the planet," she said sadly. Since she had learned of Spike's quest to become worthy of Buffy and his eventual demise, she had let go of her anger at the vampire.

"_Buffy's here_" Xander fake coughed. The three of them looked over at the blonde Slayer approaching. Willow waved Buffy over and pulled out a stool for her.

"Faith," Buffy said, acknowledging the other Slayer.

"B," Faith replied. She noticed the tense looks on Willow and Xander's faces. "What? It's not like we're going to hug or anything; but we're good, right, B?" Faith asked.

"Thanks for joining the doomed army, Faith," Buffy said, half sarcastically. She walked over to the counter and ordered enough food to feed a small family. When her order arrived, she went back to the table where her friends sat.

Princess Diana of Themyscira, or Diana Prince as her forged identity paperwork said, walked down the Sunnydale street. She was wearing a long sleeved linen blouse that billowed in the slight breeze. Her tight blue jeans drew appreciative glances from several men and a few women. Diana's dark sunglasses hid her eyes so that she could stare at the strange people without them noticing. She made her way through the throngs of pedestrians, stretching her special senses to their limit. Diana was trying to locate the living vessel of the Betrayed One's bound spirit. Sera had told her that once she got within about 100 feet of the girl, the divine essence in Diana should resonate with the divine essence of the trapped spirit.

Diana was about to give up for the afternoon when she felt something. She closed her eyes and located in which direction the feeling was coming from. She started walking in that direction, the sensation becoming stronger with each step.

Xander lost complete track of their conversation as he saw one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen start to walk their way. "Wow, she's hot," he said without realizing he had spoken aloud. Buffy rolled her eyes, but Willow turned around in her seat to see who Xander was talking about. Willow's heart skipped a beat as the gorgeous brunette made her way towards them.

"Yeah she is," willow said breathlessly.

Xander gave Willow a funny look. "That still makes me feel weird when you do that," he said.

"Do what?" Willow asked.

"Agree with me when I comment about a girl," Xander said. Willow made a face and childishly stuck out her tongue at Xander. This caused the whole table to giggle, including Xander.

Diana honed in on the strange feeling of sameness and knew it was coming from the table where three young women were talking with a young man. Her attention was divided between seeking out which of them was the one she was sent to help and thinking about how attractive the red headed girl was. Diana found herself smiling and was thrilled when the redhead returned her smile. Her smile faded however when she couldn't pinpoint who was the vessel of the Betrayed One. Her senses were telling her that the blonde woman _and_ the brunette woman both resonated with the same power that flowed through her. She finally stood next to the table and looked from the blonde to the brunette and back again.

"Pardon me for intruding," Diana said. She thought about what to say next and smirked at what Sera told her the people on the mainland called the Betrayed One. Diana thought it was a very fitting name for an Amazon warrior. "My name is Princess Diana of Themyscira. Which one of you is the_Slayer_?" she asked politely.  
]O[ =WW=


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: I'm sure that I'm writing Ch'p and Kilowog completely out of character, but I like my version of the littlest Green Lantern and the big instructor.  
**…In Darkest Night, Chapter 4**

**Planet OA**

Spike hummed a Ramones song as he made his way to the training center. Things had been going great for the past six months since his arrival on OA and his training was almost completed. He smiled as he thought back on his first day on OA…

After his audience with the Guardians was over, Ganthet had suggested that Spike visit a Dr. Moolb in regards to his unusual dietary restrictions before he went to the training building to meet with Kilowog. Sinestro, who had nothing better to do, tagged along. Spike no longer needed a guide (due to the maps of OA and OA city that had been downloaded into his brain), but he was glad to have the company. Sinestro had never heard of Dr. Moolb before, but there were thousands of specialists in the city, each one a top doctor in their sector.

"That's odd," Sinestro said when they reached Dr. Moolb's office.

"What is?" Spike asked.

Sinestro pointed to the sign. It was written in an alien language, but Spike's ring translated it for him; just like it did all languages. The sign said that Dr. Moolb was the specialist for sector 1125. "I wonder why Ganthet sent you here instead of the doctor for 2814." Sinestro wondered. Spike only shrugged his shoulders and walked into the office. The robot clerk noted Spike's name and told him to come back into to the examination room. Spike did as he was told with Sinestro close behind him, his curiosity peeked. When they reached the examination room, the robot instructed Spike to sit in a rather oddly shaped chair.

"Dr. Moolb will be with you shortly," the robot said and whisked out of the room.

Spike looked over at Sinestro. "Back home, that means you're going to be waiting a while," he said.

Sinestro nodded his head. "There are some things that are constant throughout the Universe," Sinestro agreed with a chuckle. They passed the time by asking questions about each other's home world. After about half an hour, Dr. Moolb finally made his appearance.

Spike wasn't sure who more shocked; him or the orange floating ball with tentacles. The floating orb had a face, complete with nose, mouth, and eyes on the front of it. Spike counted at least twenty writhing tentacles. The orange orb rotated to look at Spike and then Sinestro. "Which one of you is the patient, eh?" it asked. Sinestro pointed to Spike, who raised his hand. "In that case, _you_ have to leave. Doctor patient confidentiality, don't you know," Moolb said.

Spike shook his head in disbelief. "_Did my ring just translate that with a Northern Minnesota accent?_" he wondered.

"I'll be waiting in the lobby," Sinestro told Spike.

"Thanks, mate," Spike replied. Sinestro left and the door shut silently behind him.

"Well, what do we have here, eh?" Dr. Moolb asked as he floated closer to Spike. It turned to look at the door that Sinestro walked out of. "I asked your friend there to take a hike so we could talk about your _condition_ in private," he said.

"Ganthet talk to you already?" Spike asked.

"Oh, heavens no. The big blue guys don't have time to talk to us support staff," Moolb chuckled. "No, I figured it out from a couple of different clues," he told him. "First one is that chair you're sitting in. It's been trying to take a life reading from you for the past half hour, don't you know," Moolb explained. He floated over to a display on one wall. Moolb tapped it with two tentacles. "Says here nothing living has sat down there all day," he pointed out.

"All right, what else tipped you off that I'm not what I seem to be?" Spike asked, somewhat on the defensive.

"Oh, that was the most obvious one, don't you know. I think the phrase is 'takes one to know one'," Moolb said. He changed color to a dark crimson and the tell tale brow ridges and yellow eyes showed Spike that Moolb was a fellow vampire.

"What the bloody hell?" Spike shouted and took up a defensive stance. Moolb changed back to his original form, making Spike relax a little.

"Your planet wasn't the only one our common ancestor visited, don't you know. Our folk-lore says it came to our planet after it was booted off one that was overrun by strange creatures, one that had two sexes. Looking at you, I guess that fits," Moolb said.

"This coming from a floating basketball with arms," Spike said sarcastically.

"Well, not every life form , or I guess in our case – undead form, is tied to the ground like you poor, four limbed guys, eh," Moolb said. "I was turned over 300 solar cycles ago. I was the terror of an entire continent. I drained the life fluid out of more of my kind than I can remember. Now, I'm a doctor," the doctor recalled.

"Look mate, if you don't mind me asking; do you have a soul?" Spike asked. "I got mine back and it's a bit hard to get used to again," he admitted.

"Oh, so that's how you became a Green Lantern, I was wondering. The rings don't go in for evil fiends, don't you know," Moolb said. "To answer your question, yah, I got my soul back; but not by choice," he said. "Twelve of our most powerful magic users trapped me in a summoning circle. They combined their powers and forced my soul back into me. That was a bummer day, let me tell you," Moolb explained.

"I take it no sex just in case you get that one moment of true happiness," Spike said.

"Yah, I haven't rubbed more than 4 tentacles with another of my species in…wait, how did you know?" Moolb asked.

"My grandsire had the same thing done to him. Now all he does is brood, look for new hair gel products, and fight the occasional good fight," Spike explained.

"How did you get your soul back, eh?" Moolb asked.

"Made it through the Demon Trials and asked for it back as my reward," Spike told him.

Moolb made a noise that sounded like a cross between a fart and a tea kettle whistling. "Wow! I've heard of those. No wonder your ring chose you," Moolb said appreciatively. He floated over to a shelf with odd looking equipment on it. The floating doctor picked up a device that looked like it had way too many buttons and not a big enough screen. Moolb held it with four tentacles and started hitting buttons with the others. "Since you're here, I might as well check you over. Don't want you spreading anything deadly to the living, don't you know," he said.

Moolb pointed the device at Spike's feet and slowly moved it up towards his head. When it was pointing at Spike's forehead, the machine made a buzzing noise. "Oh, that's not good," Moolb said. "Did you know you've got a foreign object lodged in your noggin there?" he asked.

"Damned control chip those military wankers stuck in there to keep me from hurting humans," Spike said acidly, tapping the side of his head.

"Hold still for a moment, this will probably tickle a bit," Moolb warned as he adjusted setting on the device. Spike felt strange vibrations strike his forehead and then go further into his skull. A second later, he felt the vibrations move back to his forehead and then they were gone. Spike refocused his eyes and saw a microchip the size of a quarter floating a few feet in front of him. It looked translucent and Spike could clearly see the good doctor's orange hide through the chip. Moolb directed the chip over a short table and shut off the device. The chip became solid again. After its exposure to air, the chip exploded violently.

"Shit!" Spike and Moolb said together, both of them leaning back (well, Spike leaned back and Moolb just floated backwards.)

"I think your military doesn't like you," Moolb pointed out.

"You think?" Spike muttered. He had mixed emotions. One hand he was very grateful to have the damned chip removed; but on the other, he was really pissed to learn it was also an explosive device.

"Now about our, um, dietary restrictions," Moolb said. He floated over to another wall and pressed what Spike realized was a large vertical keyboard. He had assumed it was just a very boring mosaic. Moolb finished typing and a slip of paper printed out below it. The doctor tore it off, using three tentacles. "This is an address for a specialty butcher in quadrant 1 section b of OA city. He handles special requests for those who have a religious or health reason for avoiding synthetic meat. He's trustworthy and keeps secrets better than a bartender. You should be able to find some sort of blood to sustain you there," Moolb said. He handed the slip of paper over to Spike.

"Thanks, mate. I owe you one," Spike said. He stated patting his new uniform, looking for somewhere to stow the slip of paper. "Bugger! No pockets," Spike muttered under his breath.

Moolb gave him an indulgent look. "From what I've learned dealing with the Green Lantern from my sector is that the ring creates a uniform that conforms to the wants and needs of the wearer," he said.

Spike thought for moment. "I wonder," he said softly. He thought about his uniform and how it seemed to be able to handle not just the color green, but black and white as well. Spike closed his eyes and envisioned his uniform changing. He felt his ring pulse in response. When he opened his eyes, he was wearing a pretty fair replica of his old, black leather coat. Spike tucked the slip of paper into an interior pocket. "Not bad. Save a hell of lot on dry cleaning," he said.

Spike walked out of the examination room and rejoined Sinestro who was reading a magazine that had last year's date on it. Sinestro tossed the magazine down. "Universal constants," he muttered. Sinestro looked up at Spike and did a double take. "What the hell are you wearing?" he asked.

"My coat," Spike said simply.

"Green Lanterns don't wear coats," Sinestro protested.

"Look mate, I'm keeping the bloody coat," Spike said firmly. Sinestro held up his hands in defeat and they walked out of the doctor's office together.

"Ready to give flying another try?" Sinestro asked. "The training section is on the other side of the city," he said. In answer, Spike's helmet and gloves took form and he walked into the sunlight.

"Let's go, mate," Spike said. He rose slowly and wobbly into the air. Sinestro flew past him and used his ring to tether Spike to him. In almost no time they were at the landing platform for the huge training building.

Sinestro dissolved the tether and landed softly onto platform. Spike remembered what Sinestro had taught them when they first met and landed equally as soft. "Good job, Spike. You're a fast learner. Kilowog is going to appreciate that," Sinestro praised him.

Inside the building, Spike's helmet and gloves disappeared, but his coat remained. Sinestro just shook his head and led Spike to the central gym. In the gym, Spike saw several other Green Lanterns flying through and around obstacles, practicing making constructs, and sparring ring vs. ring. Spike let out a low whistle. Sinestro pointed to two figures, deep in conversation, in the center of the ring. "That's Kilowog," he said.

"He looks like a bloody squirrel," Spike chuckled. The smaller one did indeed look like a squirrel dressed in a Green Lantern uniform. The hulking monster next to him looked like a cross between a body builder and a wart hog.

"What's a squirrel?" Sinestro asked.

Spike ignored Sinestro's question and walked to the center of the gym. When he got there, he bent down on one knee and presented himself to the squirrel. "Kilowog, I presume," he said. The squirrel fell over, he was laughing so hard.

"Up here, poozer," Spike heard a deep voice say. Spike stood up and craned his neck to look the other Green Lantern in the eye. "I'm Kilowog, that's Ch'p. I can see how it would be easy to confuse us," Kilowog said sarcastically.

That memory brought Spike back to the present as he sauntered into the gym. Spike had become one of Kilowog's favorite students and they soon became friends. Ch'p had also befriended the new Green Lantern, instinctively knowing that interesting things would follow the blonde, pale skinned guy. Kilowog had asked Spike to come in for a little "practical demonstration". The instructor had complained that the new batch of poozers were too cocky for their own good, so he wanted them to spar with Spike.

Spike's vampire reflexes and his indomitable will had made him nearly unstoppable in training matches. Within a week, he had shown that the other trainees were nowhere near his caliber. To help train Spike, Kilowog had enlisted the aid of senior Green Lanterns to spar Spike when they visited OA. So far, Sinestro and Kilowog were the only ones to hold their own against Spike, something Sinestro relished.

"Hey, Spike," a high pitched voice sounded behind him.

Spike looked over his shoulder at the flying Ch'p. "Hello my little friend," he said, taunting the H'lvenian.

"Bite me, you hairless simian," Ch'p replied. His ring flashed momentarily. "Watch out, Spike. The thing about us 'squirrels' is that we love cracking nuts," he warned.

Spike looked down and saw a rather cartoonish looking green mousetrap hovering next to his groin. "Touché," Spike said. Ch'p floated in front of him and smiled at his friend. Spike smiled back and the mousetrap evaporated.

"Kilowog siccing you on the new guys," Ch'p asked. Spike was happy to longer be rated as one of the new guys.

"Yep," Spike replied. "'Wog said these guys aren't listening to him. We decided to see if me mopping the floor with the best of them changes their outlook," he explained.

"Ouch. Glad we have good medical services here," Ch'p said.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt them _too_ bad," Spike said with a feral grin. Ch'p returned the grin with a predatory one of his own. Ch'p flew over to the new recruits and started taking bets. Spike walked over to the huge instructor. "'Wog, how's it going?" Spike inquired.

"Thanks for coming, Spike. This batch of poozers seems to think they know more about combat that I do. I would appreciate it if you would demonstrate to them the errors of their way," Kilowog said.

"Always a pleasure. Besides, anything for a friend," Spike said whole heartedly. Kilowog smiled at Spike, which meant he opened his mouth wide. Spike waved his hand in front of his face. "Bloody hell, mate! What have you been eating? Your breath smells like a camel's ass," he protested. Spike walked away towards the sparing center, glad he didn't have to breathe. He caught Kilowog blowing into his hand, trying to smell his own breath. Kilowog gave up and trotted after Spike. For such a large creature, Kilowog was very fast.

Kilowog and Spike stepped onto the mat and Kilowog started talking. "Listen up poozers," he bellowed. "Some of you seem to think that you don't have to pay attention to my lessons. To prove you wrong, I've asked the Green Lantern of sector 2814 to join us and demonstrate some things," Kilowog said. Spike was speechless. This was the first time that his mentor had referred to him by his title instead of "poozer". It meant that in Kilowog's eyes, he was ready to take up his duties as protector of the Earth. Kilowog nodded towards Spike, which broke him out of his revelry.

"Thank you, Kilowog," Spike said. "Just so you lot know, everything I'm going to demonstrate, I learned from Kilowog," Spike fibbed. He turned to look at the assembled recruits. "I'm going to spar whomever you lot think is the best amongst you. To make things fair, I will give that person a 10 second head start before I use my power ring," he told them. This caused a murmur in the group. Spike winked at Kilowog. He was going to try a trick he and Kilowog had discussed at length, but had never tried in real life.

A green skinned humanoid brushed past the other recruits. "I'm the best," he told Spike.

"I was hoping it would be you, Tregor," Kilowog said calmly. Any rational creature would have taken that tone as a severe warning, but Tregor was too full of himself to notice.

Spike took his place on the mat and Tregor stood the customary five paces away. They saluted each other and waited for the buzzer that would tell them the match was on. The buzzer sounded and Tregor concentrated on forming a several large hammers around Spike. His constructs, which formed at the speed of thought, were only half created when Spike used his enhanced vampire speed to close the distance between them. Tregor's constructs dissolved instantly when his concentration was broken by his nose getting smashed by Spike's fist. The force of the blow knocked the cocky recruit on his ass.

Kilowog gave a running commentary. "First mistake…always prepare a defense first. There will always be someone out there faster than you," he said.

Spike used his speed again to get behind the recruit and yank him to his feet, pinning one arm behind him. The vampire reached around and grabbed Tregor's throat. "Move and I snap your neck, boy" Spike whispered in the recruit's ear. Tregor froze.

"Mistake number two…never give in to fear, even if your opponent has the advantage," Kilowog bellowed. "Spike, your ten seconds are up," he informed the blonde Green Lantern.

Spike threw Tregor to the ground and took a step back. His ring flashed and a construct took form over his head. Tregor was confused to the point of being stunned when he saw the large green monkey shaking its ass at him floating above his opponent. He was busy trying to comprehend was going on and didn't notice Spike's foot come in to deliver a painful kick to the side of his head.

"Mistake three…never let yourself get distracted," Kilowog said sadly. Spike's monkey vanished and he was holding the tip of a green broad sword to Tregor's throat. "Enough," Kilowog said. "I don't want to have to start from scratch on another poozer if you kill him," he told Spike. The sword disappeared and Spike walked away from his fallen opponent, not bothering to offer him a hand in getting up. "I want you poozers to get Tregor to the medical ward and then head back to your quarters to think about what you saw today. Class dismissed," Kilowog ordered.

While Spike was walking back towards Kilowog, he saw Ch'p flit between different recruits. The diminutive Green Lantern was busy collecting on his bets. Spike shook his head in amusement. He waited until Ch'p joined them to talk with Kilowog. "So…all of a sudden I'm the Green Lantern for 2814, am I?" Spike asked.

"I can't get anything more through that blonde head of yours," Kilowog said gruffly. Even though his tone was gruff, he put a friendly hand on Spike's shoulder. "You're as ready as you'll ever be, Spike. I'm sure you'll make the Corps proud," the huge alien told him.

"You know what this means, right?" Ch'p asked his friends.

Kilowog smiled again, causing Ch'p and Spike to wrinkle their noses. "Yep, I sure do," Kilowog said.

"Oh bloody hell," Spike moaned.

"Oh yeah, party at Spike's place tonight," Ch'p said.

"Fine, but let me swing by the butcher's place first. I'm running low and tonight deserves some of the good stuff," Spike said. Apart from Ganthet, Kilowog and Ch'p were the only two Corp members to know of his… condition. Something had kept him from sharing his secret with Sinestro, and Spike decided to trust his instincts, even if he didn't know why. They set a meeting time and Spike went off to contact his blood supplier.

Spike found Maxim the butcher chatting amiably with a customer. When the customer finally ended their transaction and left, Maxim waved one of his four arms at Spike. "What can I get for you, Mr. Green Lantern for sector 2814?" the butcher asked.

"Word travels fast," Spike observed.

"The only thing naturally faster than light…gossip," Maxim chuckled. "Congratulations," he said. He wiped a different hand on his apron and offered it to Spike. Maxim had been charmed by the quaint Earth custom of shaking hands.

Spike shook the giant's hand. "Thanks, mate. Throwing a bash tonight. Got anything new?" he asked.

Maxim gave him a shark toothed smile. "Actually I do, Spike," he said. "I got in a new shipment of animals yesterday and the computer says they're compatible with Earth based metabolisms," Maxim said. He reached below the counter and pulled out something resembling a thermos and a glass. The butcher poured some crimson liquid in the glass. He offered it to Spike.

Spike sipped the blood and then drained the glass. "Oh, that's good. Tastes just like otter," he said happily.

"What's an otter?" Maxim asked.

Spike thought for a moment about the best way to describe the animal. "Um…it's a cute, furry quadruped known for its inquisitive and playful nature," he explained.

Maxim glanced out the back window where he kept the animals for slaughter. "Yeah…why don't you just keep that image in mind, ok?" he suggested.

Spike paused as he was putting the glass down. "I don't want to know, do I?" he asked.

"Nope," Maxim said, looking back at Spike.

"Right then, I'll take a gallon," Spike said placing his order.

By the time Spike returned to his quarters, Ch'p and Kilowog had already let themselves in. Spike had quit bothering to lock his door after he learned how to pick a lock with a power ring during his first week of training. He heard the relaxing tones of one of Drop Kick Murphy's more obnoxious songs coming from his sound system. Kilowog was busy drinking from one of his gallon sized steins. From the way the big guy was listing, he must have started early. Ch'p was sitting on the table, munching on snacks he had brought.

"Hey, look who decided to finally show up," Ch'p said to Kilowog.

Kilowog rushed Spike and embraced him in a bear hug. If Spike had needed to breathe, he would have been in serious trouble. "I love you, Spike," Kilowog bellowed and then let him go.

Spike looked at Ch'p. "How much as he had to drink?" he asked. Ch'p pointed to a silver vessel roughly the shape of a keg. "That's his second one," he said in his high pitched voice.

"Oh crap," Spike muttered. "I'm not cleaning up after him this time. It would have just been easier to move all my stuff to a different flat," he complained. This brought out a chuckle from Ch'p and a loud, foul smelling belch from Kilowog. "Oh well, if you can't beat em…" he started to say as he reached for a bottle of ethanol enhanced spirits. His sentence was cut off by the sudden appearance of Ganthet in his living room.

"Hey, Papa Smurf! Come to join the party?" Spike asked. Ganthet had been amused by Spike the first time he had called him that. As soon as he did, Ganthet informed him that his fellow guardian Ranakar was definitely "Brainy Smurf". They still gave each other sly winks whenever Ranakar took it as a compliment.

"I am sorry, Spike. I am not here to share in your libations," Ganthet said. "Now that you have passed your training, it is time to take up your duties. Since the day you arrived here, six months ago, I have observed some disturbing events on Earth," he said solemnly. "I detected numerous dimensional portals spring up all over the planet. Each portal led back to the same hell dimensional," he explained. "This dimension had been a favorite of one of the ancient entities we had trapped in the Central Power Battery. I had my suspicions that it had escaped and might be operating on Earth," Ganthet told the Green Lanterns. "I had the techs do a full scan of the battery and one of the ancient ones is indeed missing," he stated.

"Which one?" Ch'p asked.

"It is known to us as Parallax, but on more primitive worlds it calls itself the First Evil," Ganthet replied.

Spike had a bad feeling about this. "Do you have a lock on where it's operating from?" he asked.

Ganthet looked down, unable to look Spike in the eyes. "Sunnydale," he said.

"What?" Spike screamed. "How could you have kept this from me? For six months? My…friends are in danger," he spewed. Spike was about to say Buffy, but changed it at the last moment.

"You weren't ready yet, Spike," Ganthet explained. "You are now, which is why I'm telling you. You have to hurry. Time is of the essence," he ordered. Ganthet looked at Ch'p. "Ch'p, I want you to go with him. If this really is Parallax, Spike is going to need all the help he can get," he said. "I've sent a recall signal to Sinestro and I'll send him your way as soon as he gets back," Ganthet assured them.

"Before I go, I need some clarification," Spike said. "The Book of OA says we're forbidden from taking a life in the execution of our duties. Does that include demons?" he asked.

Ganthet pondered for a moment as he reviewed the applicable chapters in his mind. "Evil beings from different planes of existence aren't covered by the book. Just use your best discretion, Spike," he advised. Ganthet was unnerved by the predatory look in the vampire's eyes. "Off with you. I'll be expecting regular updates," Ganthet said.

Spike and Ch'p wordlessly reached out their hands and pulled their batteries out of the pocket universe where they were stored. In unison they touched their rings to the batteries and recited their oath, recharging their rings for the long journey ahead of them. They flew through the housing building and then off into the night sky. Twin streaks of green light streaked out of Oa's atmosphere and then on towards sector 2814.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**…In Darkest Night, Chapter 5**

**Sunnydale, CA**

"My name is Princess Diana of Themyscira. Which one of you is the _Slayer_?" Diana asked politely. She both saw and felt the levels of caution skyrocket at the table. The cute redhead and the boy both tensed up. In contrast, the other two young women looked liked they relaxed a bit. Diana knew exactly what they were doing. A relaxed muscle is able to respond much faster than a tense one. She was still confused as to which one was the Slayer.

"Sorry lady, we don't know what you're talking about," Xander lied. He slid his chair out slightly so he wouldn't be caught by it if things went south.

"_Interesting,_" Diana thought. Her estimation of Xander rose a bit. "_Most men don't take a woman fighter seriously. His posture shows that he not only takes me as a credible threat, but that he expects to be back up for the women,_" she thought. Diana held up her hands, palms up. "Peace friends," she said. "I have been sent to assist the Slayer in her upcoming battles," she explained.

Willow extended her arm. She did it slowly so as not to seem hostile. She gently poked Diana's arm. Relief showed in Willow's face. "She's real, not an apparition," Willow told the group. This brought a raised eyebrow of curiosity from Diana.

Buffy made a decision. "My name's Buffy. Faith and I are both Slayers," she told the woman. Buffy couldn't explain it, but she felt a connection to this woman. A connection similar to the one she felt with Faith. "These are my friends Willow and Xander," Buffy said.

With a name like "Buffy", Diana didn't want to take chances. "Which one is Willow and which one is Xander?" she asked.

Xander looked like his ego had been dealt a major blow. Willow was biting her lip so she wouldn't laugh at Xander's expression. "The one with testicles is Xander," Faith supplied. "At least I assume he still has testicles. I haven't checked recently," she teased.

Diana nodded in understanding, grateful for the clarification. She paused to collect her thoughts before speaking. "How is it possible that there is more than one Slayer," she protested.

"Ok, Reader's Digest version," Faith said. "B there was dead for a few minutes until she was revived. It was enough for the bouncing ball of Slayerhood to bounce to the next unlucky recipient. That new one died for good and I got the responsibilities dumped on me," she explained.

Diana was trying to wrap her head around the idea of the Betrayed One's spirit residing in two girls at the same time. She realized she would have to expand her concepts of a soul a little more. She was also trying to comprehend why a parent would chose to name their child "Buffy." "Is there somewhere less public we can talk?" Diana asked.

"We can go back to my place," Buffy offered.

"Excuse me!" Xander interrupted. "Usually I'm the first idiot to do whatever the pretty ladies tell me, but this time I have to throw a red flag on the play," he said. Diana had no idea what a red colored flag had to do with anything.

"No, it's cool. We can trust her," Faith said as if she was trying to explain something intangible.

"Huh?" Xander asked.

"Faith's right. I can't explain it, but my instincts tell me to trust her," Buffy said.

"Yeah…and we all know your instincts were right on the mark concerning Spike," Xander said tersely. He looked at Willow for support. "Willow…?" Xander asked as he saw his childhood friend had a thousand yare stare.

Willow had sent out a tendril of her consciousness to connect with the Earth so she could sense the magical fields nearby. She shivered in ecstasy when she brushed across the magical energies given off by the self proclaimed princess. There was no doubt in Willow's mind that whoever this woman was, she was tied very heavily into the planet. "Earth trusts her, so I guess I trust her too," Willow said. Diana, not being one of the magically inclined sisters, looked at Willow and wondered what it was the petite redhead was talking about.

Xander held up his hands. "Fine," he said. "I'm out voted. Let's head back to the compound and just hope I'm wrong," Xander said.

Buffy, Faith, and the senior Scoobies led Diana back to Buffy's house. Buffy opened the door and walked in without inviting Diana in. Diana walked past the threshold, familiar with the limitations of vampires. She had researched them in the Great Library prior to coming to the mainland.

"Sorry for the mess," Willow apologized as they got inside. "We sort of have a full house right now," she explained.

Diana looked around and saw sleeping bags on the floor and on the couch in the living room. Several teenage girls were sitting there watching TV while even more moved about the house. Diana frowned as she felt a very dim glimmer of the same energy that inhabited the two Slayers in each of the girls.

Rupert Giles stepped out from the kitchen, cleaning his glasses. "Buffy is that you, we need to stock the kitchen again," he called out.

"Again?" Buffy sighed. "We went grocery shopping two days ago," she protested.

"Yes, I am aware of that, but with the addition of two new potentials; our calculations were off," Giles explained. "Oh…hello there," he stammered after he put his glasses back on. He glanced at Buffy. "Another potential?" he asked. The woman looked a little old to be a potential. From the looks of her, she was probably in her early 20s; much older than a potential usually was.

Buffy cocked her head to the side as she examined her senses. The feelings she got from Diana were similar to the ones she picked up on from the potentials, but it was still closer to the vibes she got from Faith. "I don't think so," Buffy said hesitantly. "Giles, this is Diana. She says she's a princess from some place called…"she started to say, but her memory blanked on the name Diana had said.

"Themyscira," Diana offered politely.

"Oh yeah, Themyscira," Buffy finished.

"Oh… well then, welcome to Sunnydale," Giles said, offering his hand. Diana took it and gave him a firm handshake. It was firm enough to be a handshake from a Slayer, and Giles rubbed some of the pain out of his hand. "Themyscira you said?" he asked. Diana nodded. Giles couldn't shake the feeling he had heard of a place called Themyscira before, but couldn't place when or recall any pertinent facts about it. He decided to do some research in his books as soon as he got the chance.

"She said she was here to help _the Slayer_," Xander chimed in. He saw the look of concern in Giles' face. "The estrogen brigade vouches for her based on a _feeling_," he said while doing air quotes with his fingers.

"I suppose the more the merrier when it comes to fighting the First," Giles muttered. The sounds of crashing pans and dishes came from the kitchen. Giles spun around and saw a couple of guilty faced potentials near the stove. "Bloody hell," he swore and stormed off to find out what was going on.

"Like I said, kinda a mess," Willow told Diana.

Diana smiled at Willow, which made the witch's heart flip. "It reminds me of home," Diana said. "The younger sisters on the island can make quite a racket too," she said fondly.

Faith took Buffy aside into the dining room. "So when were you going to tell me about Spike," she asked Buffy.

Buffy looked angry. "Spike was none of your business and it didn't have anything to do with fighting the First or this freaky preacher guy," she said defensively.

"Whoa, cool down, B," Faith said, holding her hands up. "I'm not judging you for going after more dead wood," she said. "God knows I have made some weird choices," Faith tried to explain.

"What's your point?" Buffy asked.

Faith looked at her sister Slayer with sympathy, something Buffy wasn't expecting. "I know that Spike wasn't always a good guy, but you still had feelings for the guy," she said. Buffy started to protest, but Faith's stern look silenced her. "You can lie to the others and even yourself, B, but we both know that we can't lie to each other," she said.

"It was… complicated," Buffy whispered.

"Like I don't know complicated," Faith said sarcastically. "The closest thing I ever had to a real father turned into a giant demon snake and tried to eat your graduating class," she reminded Buffy. "Even though he was an evil guy, I know he loved me like a daughter; and I loved him," Faith said quietly. "I was pretty fucked up until I finally grieved for him properly," she admitted. Faith put her hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I'm guessing you haven't grieved for Spike like you should have, right?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"What do suggest then, I cry my eyes out for a couple of days. In case you haven't heard, he tried to rape me and we are facing the end of the world," Buffy said angrily. "I don't have time for this," she spat.

Faith forced Buffy to look her in the eyes. "Ok… he fucked up, but does that erase what he did before that?" Faith asked. "On the way up here Willow explained to me what happened with the Hell bitch, Glory. She let slip that Glory tortured Spike for an entire day and he refused to give up your sister, even though he didn't have a soul then," Faith reminded Buffy. "Or how about all those times he risked his own pale (but still really cute) butt to save yours?" she demanded. Buffy looked ashamed for a moment. "Look, I'm not saying you need to dress in black and mourn for a month, but you do need to do something to help you move on," Faith suggested.

"Sorry to ease drop, but it's that super hearing thing," Diana said from the entryway into the dining room. "From what I heard, it sounds like this Spike person was quite a flawed hero, but a hero none the less. Our common ancestors, the Greeks, produced nothing _but_ flawed heroes," she said. "A hero deserves to be remembered, for their good deeds and even their bad," Diana told Buffy. "Have you ever considered setting aside just one day for a wake?" she asked.

Faith got excited. "Fuck-yeah! No arguments, B. Tonight we're all headed to the Bronze to give Spike a good old fashioned Irish wake," she said, letting no room for argument.

Buffy could see their logic, but she was still feeling petulant. "He was English, not Irish," she said.

"From how much he drank, I'm sure they made him an honorary Irishman," Faith pointed out. "Besides, we need to show our guest a good time on her first night in Sunnydale," she said. "Who knows? Maybe some idiot pack of vamps will show up and the potentials can get in some stake time," Faith added.

Buffy thought about it for a moment. This might actually be what she needed to help her let go. Not to mention that there were always at least some fanged fiends hanging around the Bronze. As much as she hated to admit, Faith and Diana had a good idea. "All right, we'll go to the Bronze and give Spike a proper send off," Buffy said. "But if I have to say something at the wake, everyone who knew him has to say something," she ordered.

**The Bronze – later that evening**

Diana was looking around the converted warehouse with interest. She noted the bar, the stage, and the catwalk / lounge area above the stage. In a town that felt lacking in life, the young people dancing gave the room a vibrant feeling. Even though the music the band was playing was very different to what she was used to on the island, she found herself enjoying the rhythmic bass beat and complex melodies. She was also enjoying the sight of Willow in the tight pants and multi colored shirt. "_Mother Aphrodite, please let her be a lesbian,_" Diana silently prayed.

Willow was sitting at a table with Xander. She was nervously sipping a fruity concoction and stealing glances at the new warrior in their midst. Willow could tell she was a warrior just from how similar Diana held herself in comparison to Buffy. Diana's choice of tight black jeans and a flowing white, linen blouse was also leasing to the young witch's eyes. Willow was startled by Xander's voice, bringing her back to her surroundings.

"Why don't we just invite her to sit with us and we can ask the question that's been burning inside both of us?" Xander suggested.

Diana's enhanced hearing picked this up and she walked over to the table with Willow and Xander. "May I join you?" she asked. Willow took another hurried sip from her drink and nodded vigorously.

"Hey, yeah…that would be great. Willow has something she wants to ask you," Xander said. He yelled "ouch" when Willow kicked him under the table.

Diana looked at Willow expectantly. "Er…um…you see…" Willow floundered.

"Oh for crying out loud, Will," Xander said impatiently. "Diana, are you gay?" he asked.

Diana was familiar with this idiom. The sisters had explained the English slang for homosexuality. With this information in mind, she decided to have a little fun at Xander's expense. "Why yes, I'm quite merry at the moment. This pub has quite the festive atmosphere," she said.

Xander had a panicked look on his face. He wasn't sure how to explain what he was asking. Diana caught Willow's eye and gave her a sly wink. Willow had the misfortune of taking another sip of her drink at the time. She sprayed it all over the front of Xander's shirt.

"What? Willow!" Xander complained as he reached for a napkin to blot his shirt. Diana chuckled behind her hand. Willow smiled and helped Xander blot his shirt.

"Sorry, Xander," Willow apologized. "It's just that Diana's messing with you. I'm pretty sure she knows what we mean when we say 'gay'," she explained.

"Gee…thanks," Xander moaned. "So, are you or aren't you?" he asked Diana.

"I enjoy the companionship of women over men. I have also found that sex with a woman to be much more enjoyable. So yes, I am a lesbian. Most Amazons are," Diana said proudly. Buffy rapping a spoon on a glass bottle drew Diana's attention to the other side of the club. While Diana's head was turned, Willow pumped her fist in happiness. Diana turned to look at Willow when she sensed motion. The redheaded witch just gave her a shy smile around her straw.

Xander on the other hand looked bummed. "How come all the good looking ones that I meet are either demons or lesbians," he muttered under his breath.

Buffy kept tapping the bottle with a spoon until everyone, including those at Willow's table, joined her near the lounge area. When they were all there she spoke. "The reason we are here tonight getting sloshed is in memory of Spike," Buffy said. "In the traditions of most wakes, I think that those of us who knew him should same something," she suggested. "Who wants to go first?" Buffy asked.

The room was silent until Anya stepped forward. "I was a friend of Spike's," she started. "Even though he was an evil blood sucking fiend who had his soul replaced by a demon, he taught me more about being human than anyone else," Anya said. She raised her glass and took a long drink. Anya started to sit down and then stopped. She turned to face the group again. "He was also really, really good at sex," Anya added, totally unaware of how inappropriate her comment was. It caused Xander to wince in remembered pain.

Giles took off his glasses, cleaned them, and stepped into the center of the group. "I knew Spike, but never considered him a friend," he said truthfully. "He was responsible for murdering two Slayers; however, he did save all of our lives on more than one occasion and Buffy's even more frequently than I want to think about. For that, I will always be thankful to him," Giles said. He raised his glass of Scotch. "To William Pratt," he said and then drained his glass.

Xander followed Giles. "I hated Spike," he said. This was no surprise to anyone in the group. "He beat the crap out of me several times and monopolized the TV to watch his crappy soap operas when he lived with me," Xander said. "And well…I can't think of anything nice to say so I'll just shut up and drink," he said as he sipped a beer.

Dawn rolled her eyes at Xander. "I was really mad at Spike for what he did to my sister, and that made me forget all the things he did for me," she said. "Last year, Spike was the only one to treat me as a person instead of a glass rose," Dawn said. She looked pointedly at Buffy. "He never talked down to me and he always tried to tell me how things really were," she said. "I miss you, Spike" Dawn said and then took a long drink from her can of Coke.

A stranger walked into their little circle of remembrance. He was dressed in a flashy gray suit and a very skinny tie. "I knew Spike," he said. "He was an inspiration to all of us and something to aspire to…"he said before the sharp end of a wooden stake poked through his chest from behind. The vampire looked down at the wooden implement. "Tough crowd," he said before he suddenly burst into a cloud of dust. Faith was standing behind him, stake in hand.

"The only time I think it's ok to crash a party is when I do it," Faith said. She spun her stake around in the palm of her hand and stuck it in the back of her waistband. "I only met Spike once, but from what I hear he loved kicking demon ass as much as I do," She raised her bottle of beer. "To another fighter," Faith said and then chugged the beer.

The group got silent as all eyes turned towards Buffy. She stepped into the middle of the circle. Instead of a drink in her hand, she held Spike's beloved leather trench coat. "When I came back to life the second time, Spike was the only one who I felt I could talk to. He never patronized me and was there every time I needed him," she said. "We used each other for sex, but when I felt it was turning into something else – I pushed him away," Buffy said solemnly. "He tried to do something horrible to me, but stopped when the man trapped inside the vampire took over. Even without his soul, Spike showed remorse for what he had done," she told the assembled group. "He went to Africa to get his soul back, even though he knew what that meant for him. I regret several things about my relationship with Spike, but the one thing I regret most is not getting to meet Spike with a soul," Buffy said, her voice going soft. She was trying hard to hold back tears. "Here's to you, Spike," she said as she slipped the black jacket on. Faith nodded her head in appreciation of Buffy's gesture.

Amanda burst into the circle. "Guys, we have a problem," she said hurriedly.

"What is it, Amanda?" Giles said using his smooth, teacher voice to calm down the potential.

Amanda took a deep calming breath like Buffy had taught her. "I was watching the windows like you said and I saw a crap load of Bringers and a few Turok-Han coming towards the Bronze," she said.

"Yep, that qualifies as a problem," Xander said glumly.

"All right, Xander, Giles, Willow – I want you to take Dawn and the potentials back to the house," Buffy ordered.

Willow smiled at Diana again shyly. "See you back at Buffy's place," she said.

Diana reached over and put her hand on Willow's arm. "Perhaps then we discuss why you were so interested in my sexuality," she said with a wink. Willow blushed a deep red.

Buffy nodded her head towards Diana. "Ready for some action?" she asked.

"Always," Diana said with a fierce smile. She paused for a beat. "What's a Turok-Han?" she asked.

"An Uber-vamp. Twice the strength, twice the resistance, and twice the ugly," Buffy explained as she watched the Scoobies shepherd the potentials out of the building. "Dawn!" she yelled when she didn't see her sister in the group making a strategic withdrawal. Buffy spun around and found her sister standing behind her, a small axe in her hand. Dawn had grabbed it out of the kit bag Faith and Buffy had brought for the potentials in case they came across a group of normal vampires. "Oh no…no…no…NO!" Buffy yelled at her sister. "You are going straight home," she commanded.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at Buffy. "Make me," she said in her best bratty sister voice.

"They're almost here," Faith yelled from the doorway.

"If you get hurt, you are so grounded," Buffy warned her sister. She motioned for Faith to join them. The Slayers, the Amazon, and the Key ran out of the building, knowing that the last place they wanted to fight a large group was inside.

Once outside, Diana concentrated and in a flash of light, her clothes changed form. Gone were the casual clothes she had chosen for the night. Diana now wore a blue, pleated leather kilt with shining brass accents. Her top had been replaced by a dark crimson, leather bustier with a brass eagle between her breasts. Diana's silver bracers shone in the moonlight. Her shins were protected by guards made of the same magical metal as her bracers. Diana held out her hand and a golden tipped spear appeared in her grasp. She flipped it around so the wooden base was pointed out.

Dawn was watching in fascination. "That is so cool," she said impressed.

"We've got company," Faith warned. She stepped to the right side of the alley. Buffy stood in the center, while Diana and Dawn moved to the left side. They all took up ready stances as a flood of Bringers and three Turok-Han ran towards them. "For the Betrayed One!" Diana yelled at the top of her lungs and ran towards the advancing wall of evil. Buffy and Faith looked at each other and smiled as Diana broke through the front line and started bashing Bringers about. The Slayers ran through the opening and joined the fray. Dawn stayed back to take care of any stragglers. The battle soon devolved into clusters of Bringers and a Turok-Han for each of the enhanced women. None of combatants saw the twin streaks of green light enter the atmosphere high above Sunnydale.

Spike slowed his decent and scanned over the town. Motion caught his eye near the Bronze. A flash of thought and a zoomed in image appeared on the visor of his helmet. Spike saw Buffy and two brunettes he didn't know being attacked by demons and the oddest looking vampires he had ever seen. He glanced further down the alley and saw his "Niblet" standing ready with an axe. A couple of the demons had broken free from the rest of the group and started towards Dawn.

"Ch'p, see that young one girl down there apart from the rest?" Spike asked his companion. He saw that a green piece of plastic had slid over Ch'p's eyes. Spike assumed it was acting as an image enhancer like his helmet was.

"Yeah, I see her," Ch'p confirmed.

"Defend her at all costs," Spike said. "If they get their hands on her, really bad stuff can happen," he explained.

Ch'p glanced at Spike. His ring had already suggested to him that the girl was important. "You got it, Spike," his squirrel shaped friend said. They broke off, each one headed for a different part of the alley.

Diana's emotions were torn. Part of her knew how serious this battle was, but another part of her sang in joy at battling side by side with the two Slayers. She was also enjoying the first real test of her skills in a long time. Diana used the base of her spear to sweep the legs out from beneath a Bringer and then spun the spear around so she could drive the point through its skull. She was pulling the spear free when she felt a warm spray on the back of her neck. Diana spun around and saw a Bringer that had snuck up on her from behind topple to the ground. A glowing green railroad spike was sticking out of the back of its head. Diana didn't have time to wonder about this a Turok-Han slammed her into a wall.

Dawn was knocked to the ground by the force of the blow the Bringer brought down on her. She had successfully blocked its strike, but ended up hitting her head on a trashcan as she fell. Dawn looked up to see the Bringer swinging his sword down at her face. She raised her arms in front of her face to block the blow and winced when the blade struck her arm. The blade failed to leave anything other than a small cut. Dawn blinked her eyes several times as the Bringer was smashed aside by a glowing, green tiger with six legs and a spiked tail. She was even further mystified when a squirrel wearing a green and black costume landed next to her. It wore a tiny ring on its right paw that glowed the same color as the tiger thing.

"Stay down and keep close to me," the squirrel said in a high pitched voice.

"_Oh crap! I hit my head harder than I thought,_" Dawn worried, but she did as she was told as two others Bringers rushed at them. A green hemisphere sprang to life around her and her furry savior.

The Bringers flailed at the shield impotently. "Not too bright, are they?" Ch'p asked Dawn. She was only able to nod numbly. "The names Ch'p by the way. Your Green Lantern for this sector asked me to look after you," he said. Ch'p turned his head to look at the human he was protecting. His eyes grew wide in astonishment as a green light emanated from the cut in her forearm. It was the same color as the energies the Green Lanterns were able to call into existence. "By the Holy Mother Tree," Ch'p swore.

Buffy, Faith, and Diana had been forced into the center of the alley and now stood with their backs to each other. Many of their enemies lay strewn about the street, but even more were pressing in on them . The Turok-Han were even having a hard time pushing through the Bringers to get to their prey. Diana caught a flicker of motion above them. She saw the figure of a man wearing a green and black uniform with a green symbol on a white background on his chest hovering about 15 feet off the ground. A black and green helmet obscured his face. Diana noted that he wore a black coat very similar to the one Buffy was wearing. The man suddenly shot towards the sky in a blur of green light. Diana traced the man's trajectory as he rose and then disappeared from sight.

Spike was hovering above the battle, dealing out green death to demon after demon. He was finishing off a pair on Buffy's blind side when he saw her and the other two women get herded into the center of the alley. He hesitated for a moment while he came up with a plan. An idea struck him and he commanded his ring to get him away from the battle so he could gather speed. Spike rocketed upwards and once he was a couple of miles up, he looped over and flew fast towards Sunnydale. Spike was flying close to the deck and approaching the speed of sound. His ring glowed as he made his current construct appear in front of him. Spike was trusting that Buffy's enhanced senses would pick up on his approach and she would move the way he needed. Otherwise it was about to get really awkward. Spike figured killing the woman he loved on his first real day on the job wouldn't go over well with the Guardians.

Something tickled at the back of Buffy's awareness. She turned her head and saw a bright green glow headed straight for them. Buffy estimated how long it would take for the green glow to get to the alley and yelled, "Get Down!" at the last moment. As Buffy, Faith, and Diana crouched low to the ground, Buffy was certain she saw a giant green fender from a 1959 Buick move through the space where their heads had recently been. The fender raced past and plowed into the hoard of Bringers, knocking them back nearly a block.

Most of the Bringers were killed by the impact. The Turok-Han had been buffered by the Bringers' bodies and rose up from the carnage. One of them gave Buffy a malice filled smile as he looked at the crouched Slayers. It started to walk towards the Slayers confidently, but its approach was suddenly halted. Buffy was shocked when the Turok-Han was turned into Uber-vamp goo when it was smashed between two giant, green frying pans. She looked up and saw tendrils of green light that traced from the constructs to a man in a black coat hovering above them.

The remaining two Turok-Han were looking at Spike as well. The one closest to the Slayers was surprised when it looked down and saw a couple of feet of a wooden spear shaft sprouting from its chest. It had barely enough time to register Diana's satisfied smirk before it exploded in a cloud of dust. The remaining Uber-vamp saw this and turned to run. It ran full tilt into the green brick wall that had formed behind it. While it was recovering its balance, Buffy launched herself in a flying somersault at the Uber-vamp. When she finished her roll, Buffy drove Mr. pointy through its dense bone plate covering its torso and into the Turok-Han's heart. A billow of dust that blew away in the wind was all that remained of the final standing minion of evil for the evening.

Buffy stood up and watched as the man in the black coat and strange green and black costume landed in front of her. She took an involuntary step back as his helmet faded away. Underneath the helmet was the face she had been thinking about all evening long. Spike grinned warmly at her from under his green mask. "Miss me, pet?" he asked fondly.


	6. Chapter 6

**…In Darkest Night, Chapter 6**

Sunnydale, CA

Spike grinned warmly at Buffy from under his green mask. "Miss me, pet?" he asked fondly.

Buffy took two steps forward and punched Spike in the jaw for all she was worth, sending him flying. Spike landed in a heap next to Dawn's feet.

"Mating ritual?" Ch'p asked, clearly amused.

"Something like that," Spike muttered.

Dawn blinked a few times to make sure she saw what she saw. "Hey cool, now I'm hallucinating that Spike is back," she giggled on the edge of hysterics.

"Not now, Dawn," Buffy said as she stalked towards the downed vampire. Spike rolled to his feet and held up his hands defensively.

"Look, Buffy, before you hit me again, can we talk about things," Spike pleaded.

Buffy ignored his plea and slapped him across the face. She started banging on his chest furiously. "I thought you were dead," she yelled. She kept hitting him on the chest until she tired and collapsed into his arms. By the tender way Spike held her, Buffy knew that her vision had been right; Spike had his soul back. "I thought you were dead," she whispered.

Spike stroked her hair and then smirked at Buffy. "Have been for over a 120 years, love," he said. A second later he caught her meaning. "Ohhh, you mean for good. Why would you think that?" he asked.

Buffy cocked her head to the side and pushed Spike away. "Let me see. You disappear and don't contact me for six months and when Willow did a locating spell, she couldn't find any trace of you on the planet," she explained.

"I can explain," Spike started to say and then leaned to the side slightly to look at Faith and Diana. "But are you sure you want me to with strangers present?" he asked.

Buffy turned around and pointed at Faith. "That's Faith. She's the other Slayer and the tall one is Diana. She's an Amazon Princess," Buffy told Spike. "Now they're not strangers," she insisted.

Spike waved at the other women. "Hi, I'm Spike," he said in greeting.

"Yeah, I know," Faith said with a hint of humor. "We met when I was wearing B's bod," she told him.

"Eeew, can we please not talk about that ever again," Buffy asked.

"You never mentioned that he could fly," Diana observed.

Buffy spun around and looked closely at Spike. "Start with the 'splainy…now!" she demanded.

Spike absent mindedly twisted his power ring. "Yeah…about that," he said hesitantly. "You see, I've been off planet for the last six months in training," Spike tried to explain.

"That would explain why Willow was unable to locate him. Her spell most likely only covered the planet," Diana pointed out.

Buffy scrunched up her face. "Off planet? Training? What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Spike has been in training to become one of the Green Lanterns," Buffy heard from down by Dawn's side. A squirrel wearing a similar costume to Spike's floated up so she could see him. "He's the Green Lantern assigned to your sector," Ch'p said. "Since the bleach he uses on his hair has probably soaked in too far and made my buddy forgetful, I guess I'll introduce myself. My name's Ch'p," he said.

"Buffy, just so we can clear things up," Dawn said. "Do you see a talking squirrel and Spike, too?" she asked hopefully. Dawn was afraid her sanity was slipping.

Buffy had been through one too many shocks that evening. "Floaty squirrel talking," was all she was able to get out.

"If it matters, I also see a levitating squirrel and someone who matches the description you gave me about Spike earlier," Diana told Dawn.

"Oh good," Dawn replied. She used the trash bin nearby to help herself up. Dawn walked over to Spike and kicked him in the shin.

"Owe," the vampire yelped.

"I'm mad at you, Spike," Dawn said unnecessarily. She then wrapped her arms around her vampire protector and gave him a huge hug.

"Missed you too, Niblet," Spike said lovingly.

Faith had dusted herself off and she and Diana walked over to the reunion. "I gotta ask," Faith said. "What's up with the whole mask and costume thing?" she asked.

"Like Ch'p said, I'm a Green Lantern now," Spike said.

"Is that some sort of biker gang with a weird fetish?" Faith asked.

Ch'p giggled at the translation his ring provided. "No, we're not _bikers_," he chuckled. "Probably the easiest way to describe the Green Lantern Corps is to say that we're interstellar law enforcement officers," Ch'p said.

Buffy guffawed. "Spike's a cop?" she asked. "Sorry, Dawn, I think we're all hallucinating," Buffy said sarcastically. She looked up at Spike and saw the hurt look in his face. "I'll let you try to convince me back at my house," she told him.

Spike surrounded Buffy and Dawn with a green glow. The three of them lifted off the ground. "Return your tray tables to their upright positions," Spike joked.

Ch'p's ring surrounded Faith in a similar green glow. When he turned his attention to Diana, she smiled and shook her head. "No thank you," she said and then rose into the air by herself. Diana flew past Spike on her way back to the Summers house.

Spike, who didn't notice the shocked looks coming from the girls, said, "You forget to mention that she could fly."

**Summers House**

Willow was looking out the front window, waiting for to see if Buffy, Faith, Dawn, and Diana made it home safely. Her eyes grew huge as she watched Diana come in for a landing on the front door. The Amazon Princess was still dressed in her battle clothes. Willow rushed outside to greet Diana.

"Are you OK? Where are the others? You can fly?" Willow babbled.

Diana smiled at how cute Willow looked when she went on like that. "Yes…on their way here…and yes, I can fly," she said, answering all of Willow's questions. "Let's go inside and wait for Buffy," she said. "She has some interesting news she wants to share with everybody," Diana said.

Without thinking, Willow took Diana by the hand and led her into the house. Willow only became aware of holding Diana's hand once they were inside and she shut the door behind them. She looked down at their joined hands and blushed; but didn't move to let go. Diana smiled and also made no move to let go.

A green glow flashed outside and then subsided. The potentials that were in the living room ducked for cover. Willow felt Diana's hand tightened and she looked up to see the taller woman wink at her. Giles and Xander had heard the potentials drop to the ground and came running into the hallway.

The front door opened and Faith strolled in. "What's up?" she asked the potentials casually. She was followed inside by Dawn who had a large squirrel wearing a green mask and clothing riding on her shoulder. Giles took off his glasses and wiped them clean. When he put them back on, the squirrel was still there; looking around the room with intelligence not expected in rodents.

Buffy was next through the door. She turned her head and said formally, "You can come in." Buffy then carefully hung Spike's old coat on the banister.

"What…the…fuck?" Xander swore as he heard Buffy violate one of the strict rules they had learned the hard way. He did a double take as he recognized the blond man who entered the house.

"Spike?" Giles asked softly.

"Rupert," Spike said, acknowledging the Watcher.

Willow was reaching her hand out slowly to poke Spike like she had Diana, but was stopped by Buffy. "Don't worry, I hit him lots of times. Spike's real," Buffy told everyone.

"How did you hide from my tracking spell? Why did you hide from my tracking spell?" Willow asked in rapid fire mode.

Buffy shook her head. "Go ahead and tell everyone here what you told me. That way you don't have to keep repeating yourself," she told Spike. "Oh…and while you're at it, see if you can convince me about the whole cop thing," Buffy said.

"Awww, has poor little Spikey poo gotten mixed up with the cops again?" Xander asked, trying to get a rise out of Spike. Instead of the angry retort he was expecting, Spike just smiled at him. The anticipation in that smile made Xander's blood run cold.

"You could say that," Spike said to Xander. He looked around the room at the closest thing he had to friends on Earth. Spike took a deep breath (still a habit after 120 years) and explained what had happened to him during the past six months. "I went to Africa to get my soul back. I did this because I wanted to be worthy of Buffy," he said. "After I passed the trials, I got my soul back and realized that I had a lot of things to try and make amends over. I was on my way back to civilization when a space ship nearly crashed on top me," Spike explained.

Giles cocked his head to the side and squinted. "I'm sorry, did you just say 'space ship'?" he asked carefully.

Ch'p floated off of Dawn's shoulder. This caused a clamor from those who hadn't seen flying earlier. "Blondie locks almost got creamed by your past Green Lantern. Abin Sur was dying and asked his ring to find a suitable replacement," he told the crowd. "The ring searched your entire planet for the one person who was worthy to wear it. It chose the man who showed the most courage and had the strongest will to become Abin Sur's successor," Ch'p said. Xander scoffed, but Ch'p ignored him. "Spike was chosen and spent the last six months on the planet OA, training to be a Green Lantern," he explained. Ch'p's ring glowed and a movie screen appeared over the fireplace.

The green hued screen showed scenes of Spike's training and life on OA. The first segment was Spike crashing during his first flight. What followed after that were vignettes showing Spike's training and rise as one of the Corps most capable fighters. The final segment was his audience with the Guardians. Willow got goose bumps when she saw Spike raise his ring and take his oath in earnest. Diana smiled when she heard the wording of the oath. She herself and sworn something similar to her mothers and fathers when she took up the title of princess.

When the screen disappeared, Spike stepped into the middle of the room. "I am the Green Lantern for sector 2814," Spike said in an official tone. "I am tasked with keeping order in this part of the Universe. Earth is only one of the 36 planets I'm responsible for," he said. "Of course not all of them have life on them, but I'm supposed to check on them anyway just in case someone sets up shop where they aren't allowed," Spike added.

Xander walked up in front of Spike and started poking him in the chest. "What good is a 'cop' who can't fight back?" he asked, referring to the chip the Initiative implanted in Spike's brain.

Without warning Spike smashed his fist into Xander's face, sending the human sailing across the living room. "Oooh, that felt good," Spike said happily. He looked down at Xander, who was having trouble focusing. "Oops, forgot to mention the part where I got that removed," he said with a smile.

"Are you going to let him do that to me?" Xander asked Buffy while he rubbed his jaw.

Dawn answered in Buffy's place. "You had that one coming," she told Xander.

"I agree," Diana said. "Of course had you said those things to me, I would have broken both your legs," she said casually.

Ch'p decided to interrupt things before they got too out of hand. "Does anyone here have any nuts?" he asked politely.

Giles frowned for a moment. "I truly don't know how to answer that question," he said.

"Ch'p is talking about the kind you eat…or at least I think he is," Spike clarified.

Dawn motioned towards the kitchen. "I hid a can of mixed nuts behind the sink so the potentials wouldn't find them," she told Ch'p. Ch'p floated back to her shoulder and Dawn carried him into the kitchen.

Buffy looked at Spike and suddenly she felt stifled in the confines of the house. "I need to get some air," she said. Buffy brushed past Giles and the assembled potentials on her way to the back porch. Spike was about to follow her, but he was stopped by Willow talking to him.

"My spell didn't work because you weren't on Earth?" she asked, just to make sure she understood things. "And you have a soul now?" she added.

"Yeah, Red, I know it's hard to accept; believe me, I can barely wrap my head around it too," Spike replied. He walked over to Willow and put his hand over his non-beating heart. "I did terrible things without my soul. Things that I will never forgive myself for," Spike said. "Top of that list is what I did to Buffy," he said softly. "I don't expect forgiveness for that or anything else I've done. I just want a chance to make amends for them," Spike told her.

Willow thought about what he was saying. While they stood face to face, she sent out a tendril of herself to connect with Mother Earth. Willow's eyes widened when she felt a sense of pride radiating from Gaia towards the old vampire. She sent her confusion back through the link and was rewarded with an explanation. Spike was the first of her children to become a Green Lantern, a champion of the stars. The connection was severed before Willow could get lost in the vastness of Gaia's consciousness. She refocused her eyes and smiled at Spike. "Welcome back, Spike," Willow said.

"Thanks, Red," Spike replied. "But if you'll excuse me, I have to talk with Buffy," he said. Spike made his way through the living room and then into the kitchen. Ch'p was sitting on the kitchen island next to an open can of nuts. The little Green Lantern was munching away on a cashew and making appreciate noises when his mouth wasn't full. "Don't eat too many of those or you won't be able to fit into your uniform," Spike teased. Ch'p held up the middle of his three fingers on his left hand and continued eating. Spike chuckled and went out the back door of the house.

Spike found Buffy sitting on the porch steps, gazing into the night sky. Since they were in Southern California, very few stars could be seen. Buffy kept staring at the sky when she heard Spike join her. "At first, I was so angry at you over what you tried to do that I wanted to stake you," she told him. "Then I was given a Slayer dream that showed me what you did during the Demon Trials. I watched each of the tortures you went through. I heard what you chanted in order to stay focused," Buffy said.

"Look pet, that was just to stay sane," Spike told her. "I don't expect anything from you other than you letting me help when things get tough," he said. "I don't deserve any kindness from you," Spike whispered sadly. He thought he had said it softly enough that not even a Slayer could hear him, but Buffy's nodding head told him she had.

Buffy kept staring at the sky, when she came to a decision. As soon as she did, something clicked inside of her and she finally understood what love was. Buffy slowly stood up and turned around to face Spike. She finally understood. "Lose the mask," Buffy ordered. In a flash of green light, Spike changed out of his uniform. He stood before her in a pair of faded blue jeans and a tight black tee shirt. "You're right. For what you tried to do and for everything you did during the past 120 years, you don't deserve my forgiveness," she told him. Spike squared his shoulders, ready to face what he thought he deserved. Buffy watched him do this and stepped even closer to him. She reached out her right hand and placed her palm on his cheek. "You may not deserve it, but I forgive you anyway," Buffy said softly.

Spike blinked his eyes several times. He was having a hard time processing what she had said. "What? Why?" he tried to ask, but Buffy's finger on his lips quieted him.

"That's what you do for those you love," Buffy explained as she wrapped her arms around Spike and pulled him to her for a passionate kiss.


End file.
